The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘PER8603’.
The new Poinsettia a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Encinitas, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Poinsettia cultivars having flower bracts with desirable colors, uniform plant habit and excellent post-production longevity.
The new Poinsettia is a naturally-occurring branch mutation of a proprietary selection of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. identified as 5-01, not patented. The cultivar ‘PER8603’ was discovered and selected by the Inventor from within a population of plants of the parent selection a controlled environment in Encinitas, Calif. in December, 2002.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by terminal vegetative cuttings in a controlled environment in Encinitas, Calif. since February, 2003, has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.